Other Stories
Feature Stories
A Pilot Program in the Kenan-Flagler Leadership Initiative Proves Successful for N.C. Business and UNC Kenan-Flagler
Magdalena Kotek (MBA '05) didn't necessarily think of herself as a leader when she started her studies at UNC Kenan-Flagler in 2003. Two years later, she is working in sales and marketing with GE and successfully motivating a team of experienced professionals to work with her. She credits the transformation to a pilot consulting project that she led in her last months as an MBA — an experience that showed her she already possessed the potential necessary to be an effective team leader and further developed her leadership skills.
In 2004, North Carolina Department of Commerce (NCDOC) Secretary Jim Fain suggested to UNC Kenan-Flagler Dean Steve Jones that the School could play an immediate role in the state's economic development efforts by helping small- to mid-sized companies grow their businesses. They launched a pilot program through which NCDOC pinpointed a company that needed to expand its market. The plan was for UNC Kenan-Flagler students to develop strategies for the company and to furnish critical consulting and action plans — assistance such companies could not otherwise afford.
The pilot program with NCDOC is just one element of the recently launched Kenan-Flagler Leadership Initiative. The Leadership Initiative is an integrated, experience-based program that assesses and develops MBAs' leadership skills. Students will test their leadership skills by putting them into practice to solve real business problems and graduate with a track record of effective leadership.
In addition to Jones — a former corporate CEO, entrepreneur and McKinsey and Co. consultant — the pilot program was developed by Valarie Zeithaml, associate dean of the MBA program, and Edward Cornet, head of the MBA concentration in management consulting and former senior partner at Booz Allen Hamilton.
The NCDOC chose Beard Hardwoods as the project's first client because it was experiencing a declining domestic market but showed potential for growth internationally, according to Peter Cunningham, NCDOC's international trade division director.
Based in Greensboro, N.C., Beard Hardwoods, a $17 million company, is one of the leading hardwood lumber wholesalers in the United States, representing nearly 300 manufacturers of hardwood, lumber, dried wood and related products.
Six first-year MBA students, recruited and directed by Kotek, worked closely with the Beard management and NCDOC from January to May 2005 to survey potential contacts and sources for prospects in Mexico's market. Cornet advised the students as they constructed a timeline and plan for implementation of these exports.
By exporting to Mexico, Beard Hardwoods would reduce its reliance on the U.S. domestic market, increase its global presence, create the opportunity for a competitive edge in Mexico's hardwood market, and expand its export business by 25 percent.
"We saw an opportunity to export to Mexico, sketched out an implementation plan, and made three formal presentations to the client," Kotek said. "The project ended up being more profitable than they expected."
NCDOC business development manager for furniture, Jeremy Ruff, a key partner during the process, said that Beard Hardwood implemented the specific recommendations from the group and within 60 days made the first export shipments to the target customers. While the students’ model predicted that Beard would ship two containers to Mexico in the first year, Beard has surpassed expectations and is now shipping two to three containers per month.
Beard Hardwoods president John Beard viewed the project as good opportunity for the company and said being chosen for the pilot project was an honor.
"It showed us that cooperation between the private sector, academia and state government can be a win-win-win. We came away with a new market for our product. The students came away with knowledge of working on a 'real' consulting team. The NCDOC came away with a successful program in helping existing business. This is an example that true economic development does not just focus on recruiting new business but also helps existing business survive in a world market."
The NCDOC also saw the value in the pilot project and Cunningham said they are excited about continuing the relationship. A page on its Web site offers interested businesses a chance to learn more about the opportunity.
"I found the student team to be incredibly professional and energetic," Cunningham said. "They worked well with our client and representatives in Mexico to complete the research. We are looking forward to rolling this new service out with more clients in the spring."
Kotek said that the students developed real-world practical consulting experience on expanding markets internationally. They also learned valuable lessons about teamwork, and, especially for Kotek, leadership. She says she has a vastly renewed view of leadership, thanks to her experiences at UNC Kenan-Flagler.
"It was a huge leadership learning opportunity for me," she said. "It made me much more confident." Plus, she added, "Kenan-Flagler taught me that there are different kinds of leadership."
Mindy Storrie, director of leadership at UNC Kenan-Flagler, says the pilot program was a success for all involved.
"The School plans to offer more opportunities for students to apply what they have learned in the classroom," she said. "They will have the chance to solve real business problems and gain valuable leadership experience by helping area firms grow and thrive."
Three UNC Kenan-Flagler PhD Graduates Garner Spots as Deans of U.S. Business Schools
It may be no coincidence that Andrew C. Boynton (MBA '84 and PhD '87) just published a book and a Harvard Business Review article on "Virtuoso Teams." The works, co-written with former UNC Kenan-Flagler professor Bill Fischer, describe the phenomenon of gathering a team, not of like-minded and compatible individuals, but of the most brilliant minds available, and then watching the sparks fly. As the newly appointed dean of Boston College's Carroll School of Business, Boynton is likely trying to create his own virtuoso team as he develops his strategy for the future of the school.
After teaching at Darden and the prestigious IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland, Boynton was an associate professor at UNC Kenan-Flagler for two years. He went back to Lausanne in 1996, first as a professor and then as founder and program director of its highly regarded Executive MBA Program.
Boynton began his new post as dean at Carroll in January 2005, and has already started making the sparks fly. Described by the Boston Herald as "a boyish 49," Boynton's noted drive and enthusiasm are serving him well as he changes the school's strategy and starts focusing more on the undergraduate program, which numbers more than 20,000 students. His goal is to live up to Boston College's motto, "Ever to Excel," which he says his experience at UNC Kenan-Flagler has enabled him to do.
"The Kenan-Flagler faculty embraced my ideas and initiative but always pushed me to do better," Boynton said. "They never wavered on their high expectations for my scholarship and quality of work, and it paid off. I believe I developed an appreciation of what it takes to do excellent scholarship, and an appetite for ideas that has lasted to this day."
Another UNC Kenan-Flagler graduate who is new to his post as dean is R. Stephen Sears (PhD '80), who was named the Milar Puskar Dean at West Virginia University's (WVU) College of Business and Economics in July 2005. Formerly senior executive associate dean at the Rawls College of Business Administration at Texas Tech University, Sears shares Boynton's lofty ambitions for his new school. He thinks WVU can become one of the top 50 business schools in the nation.
"This college is in need of more visibility," Sears said in an interview with the (Charleston, W.Va.) State Journal. "To be successful, a college of business and economics needs to publicize what it's doing. And oftentimes recognition is based upon exactly that — you're doing a good job but no one knows about it."
After he graduated from UNC Kenan-Flagler, Sears taught at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign until 1988. He returned to his alma mater, Texas Tech — where he had earned his BA and MA in business administration — to serve as finance department chair and professor and director of the Institute of Banking and Financial Studies. He served as interim dean and then as the senior executive associate dean from 2001 to 2003.
Sears' academic interests are corporate finance and investments, and he plans to teach every third semester at WVU. He is working with faculty to develop the college's strategic plan. He plans to promote some of the college's best programs, such as the Center for Chinese Business, the Entrepreneurship Center and the forensic accounting program, as niches.
Sara Freedman (PhD '76) finds herself facing a different set of challenges than her two counterparts from UNC Kenan-Flagler. Her challenge is not that of a new dean — she has been dean of the College of Business and Industry at Mississippi State University since 1998 — but one that she was not anticipating. Her school's immediate priority has been to provide assistance for victims of Katrina. The school's MBA and PhD student organizations are spearheading collections of supplies and money for victims. The school has also sponsored student, faculty and staff volunteers who are helping evacuees apply for FEMA assistance.
When the dust settles from Katrina, Freedman will focus on the ongoing expansion and renovation of the school's facility. A 50,000-square-foot addition is currently underway, which Freedman said will make the facility more student friendly. The proposed addition includes a three-story atrium, an enhanced student advising center, numerous team rooms, an auditorium and state-of-the-art classrooms.
Formerly a professor in the Bauer College of Business Administration at the University of Houston, Freedman was made dean of Bauer in 1995. She was recognized by UNC Kenan-Flagler in 1997 as the Outstanding Alumna at the Latané Awards Banquet. Freedman, whose focus at UNC Kenan-Flagler was on organizational behavior, credits the PhD program with providing her the critical research and teaching skills necessary to becoming a successful and engaged faculty member.
"I enjoyed what I did," Freedman said. "And I believe what I did as a faculty member paved the way to the opportunities I have had in administration."
She advises current and prospective PhD students to take full advantage of the opportunities a doctoral program provides.
"The faculty at Kenan-Flagler were not only excellent teachers but also wonderful friends and mentors," Freedman said, and then added this advice to current students, "Take advantage of all the wonderful activities that make Kenan-Flagler so great, from exploring research areas of interest, to working with faculty, to taking advantage of teaching opportunities, to building life-long friendships."
BSBA Graduate Works in the Fast Lane
Winning is the most important goal in Marshall Carlson's career. While that might be a metaphorical goal for many, Carlson's day-to-day work life is literally defined by winning and losing. The 1996 BSBA graduate is the general manager for Hendrick Motorsports (HMS), an automotive racing team based in Charlotte, N.C., that houses five full-time teams in NASCAR's top two divisions — the NEXTEL Cup Series and Busch Series.
 |
| Marshall Carlson |
|
Carlson started with HMS at the ground level, sweeping floors in the chassis shop as part of a summer college internship. After he graduated from UNC, Carlson served as team engineer for the organization's fledgling NASCAR SuperTruck Series (now Craftsman Truck Series) entry.
A native of Charlotte, Carlson most recently managed upwards of $200 million in real estate projects as vice president of corporate financial management with the Hendrick Automotive Group. The 32-year-old now oversees day-to-day operations of HMS, which employs more than 500 people.
Hendrick Motor Sports is organized into three operating groups: competition, development and business. The largest group, competition, includes the five NASCAR teams, which prepare the cars for their specific drivers and execute the Sunday races. The development group manages specific technologies through engineering and research and development programs.
Carlson works most closely with the business group, which is responsible for creating value for their sponsor partners, funding the operation, managing the rights assets and offering logistics support for the mobile business.
"In the simplest terms," Carlson added, "we have two overarching and related goals: raise money and win races."
Motorsports is a large and rapidly growing industry in North Carolina. The annual impact is $5.1 billion with over 24,000 employees affected. NASCAR, as a component of the industry, has the highest annual attendance of any professional sport, and is second only to the NFL in TV viewership. The motorsports industry is unique in that it tests and ranks each team's competence every week. Carlson quickly discovered that means, from a management perspective, nobody has to preach performance.
"All of the HMS employees make daily decisions based on the fact that without performance, nothing else we do matters."
The flip side of winning, of course, is losing. And when one of the HMS teams loses, that is when they are faced with challenging decisions.
"Almost all of our revenue comes from sponsorship and race winnings," Carlson said. "If we're not performing, we'll lose both."
Carlson has learned the value of teamwork, especially when things are not going as well as he would hope.
"Our guys race each other as hard as anyone else from flag to flag, but they also recognize if they help another Hendrick team in preparation, it will make their team stronger in execution."
Reflecting on his education, Carlson said he developed a breadth of knowledge in multiple disciplines at UNC Kenan-Flagler — accounting, finance, operations, organizational behavior and marketing — that is invaluable to him in his current position. Also, he credits the School for the strong analytical tools he took away from his education.
"Most undergraduates don't have the opportunity to put leadership lessons into practice right away, but they can immediately make an impact on the business by applying functional analytical skills to a given situation. Unless you have the working tools to apply, you can't build the credibility required for management leadership."
As the racing series reaches its climax in October for the championship title, Carlson keeps busy attending every other race. Primarily, he spends his time at the races working with the sponsors. And when the checkered flag waves, he learns one more lesson in the art of winning and losing.
|
Feature Stories
